Organic syntheses based on the activation of C–H bonds catalysed by transition metals (TM) are of great interest because new pathways can be designed that were not previously available. Of the numerous TMs, ruthenium has emerged as a powerful alternative to palladium and rhodium as it shows comparable activity and versatility at a substantially lower cost. The issue of the selectivity in C–H bond activation is solved using directing groups. This set of tools (ruthenium, C–H bonds, directing groups) provides easy access to the tailored formation of new C–C and C–heteroatom bonds. This Digest presents the most recent and impressive results, limited to the last 2–3 years, in this wide and exciting area.

Funding by Gobierno de Aragón-Fondo Social Europeo (Spain, group E-97) is gratefully acknowledged. S. R. also thanks Gobierno de Aragón for a PhD grant.

Peer Reviewed